Life of a Stray Dog

Fail title XP Well anyway, kaer told me to write a drabble or something like that buuut, this turned out to be a bit longer than I wanted XP I'll write some more later. Hope you likey 8D


A young pup padded slowly through the cold dripping rain, his soggy brown fur plastered to his sides. He spotted a cardboard box in an alley and crawled into to escape the rain. The sides sagged leaving the slightly dripping roof only inches from the pup's head, but it was better than the pouring rain outside. This was no way for a pup to live. Meals never came easy, other stray dogs and alley cats often stole his food, and usually left him a scratch or bite to remind him of his place. They were usually minor but by now he was covered in so many scars, no one would take him in. I don't even have my own name. The pup thought sadly. I'm just...Pup. He jumped as a thud sounded. Looking around frantically, the thud sounded again and the pup felt the box shake. A golden Labrador poked it's head through the entrance.

"Hey buddy, that's my box your sittin' in." She said. The pup scurried to the back of the box.

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't know." He stammered.

"Hey now, don't need to go all tail-between-your-legs on me." The Labrador crawled in and lay down next to the pup. "What's a wee ol' pup like you doing out in this weather? Don't you have a home?"

The pup looked down at his aching paws before replying, "No..."

"Well, out there is no place for a pup." She said. "Do you at least have a name?" The pup shook his head.

"We're gonna need to fix that, aren't we? Oh, silly me. Going on to give you a name when I haven't told you mine." The Labrador laughed. "My name's Star. And your name should be..." Star looked the pup over. "Brown? Nah, too general. Tiny? No, that doesn't really fit you. Hmm..." Star looked around the alley for some idea of what to call the pup. Paper bag? Can? Brick? "I got it!" She yelled, causing the pup to start. Star's warmth had caused him to start drifting off into a light sleep. "We'll call you Tumbleweed." She said proudly.

"Tumble...weed?" He wasn't sure he liked that name, but Star seemed so proud of it. She was the first dog to show him any kindness in this cold world, and he didn't want to hurt her feelings. And she had also fallen asleep already, so that was the end of their somewhat one-sided conversation. Tumbleweed sighed and placed his head on his paws. He soon fell into an uneven sleep haunted by past memories and thoughts about what awaited him in the future.

The next morning, Tumbleweed awoke to find Star had left and the sun was already high in the sky. He ran outside and yelped in surprise as a leftover pizza slice landed in front of him. "Hope you like Pepperoni." Star said, her voice muffled by a bone that still had some meat on it. She placed the bone down next to the pizza slice. "Sorry there's so little, that alley cat gang puts up a real fight." Tumbleweed noticed several small scratches on Star's side. Star saw where he was looking and said, "These little scratches are nothing. The claws of an alley cat are better than the claws of hunger, don't you think?" She sat down next to Tumbleweed. "Dig in." She wolfed down the chicken in about five seconds flat while Tumbleweed nibbled nervously on the pizza crust. Not long after they finished eating, two snarling black dogs appeared in the entrance of the alley. A huge Rottweiler stepped in between the two dogs. "What are you doing here?" Growled Star.

"I'd like to ask you the same thing. This is our turf now." Said the Rottweiler in a cold tone.

"This alley is neutral territory until that little war you've got with the alley cats is over."

"Those puny kittens won't last another day against us." He said. "We might as well take it now." A loud screech sounded as a large group of alley cats attacked the Rottweiler's group.

"We're just as strong as you meat-headed poodles, Bone." Spat a brown Tabby cat. "You're not winning this war." The Tabby made a slash at Bone slicing off the tip of his ear. Bone growled and made a lunge at the Tabby, snagging his tail before he could leap out of the way. Bone slammed the cat into a garbage can.

"You're all talk and no fight, Claw." As the cats and dogs continued their battle, Star scooped up Tumbleweed and ran through the forest of claws and teeth. She ran until they came to a dumpster a safe distance away from the fight and Star dropped Tumbleweed onto the ground.

"Who were they?" Tumbleweed asked Star.

"They were Bone and Claw, leaders of the alley cat and stray dog gangs. They're in a war right now, so tensions between them are higher than a skyscraper." She replied, licking a bite she had gotten while running out of the alley.

"Why are they fighting?"

"There used to be a lady who left out food for the dogs and cats in the alley where we live, but there was only ever enough for one gang. The gangs declared a war against each other and the victor kept the alley. Eventually, the lady moved away to another city. But neither one of the two gangs wanted to back down because the other would think they were weak. They've been fighting for many years now, and hundreds perhaps even thousands of lives have been taken." Tumbleweed looked towards the alley as Star finished her story. The dogs and cats were gone, but several small pools of blood and clumps of fur lay on the ground. "It's getting late," Star said. "and I doubt the gangs are in a cheerful mood. We should get back home."

kaerlighed : I separated your paragraphs to make things easier to read.

Bawww how cute! <3 It was a bit hard to read with a lack of clear paragraphs, but I did enjoy it. C: